Calallen brushes off bad start vs. Mercedes

Beeville awaits next in area round

MERCEDES - If the halftime break were longer than 28 minutes, Calallen High School's Wildcats might still be in the locker room getting dressed down by the coaching staff.

Fortunately for the Wildcats, there was a second half, and they have owned second halves for the previous 10 weeks.

Calallen opened its 27th consecutive playoff appearance with a 46-10, Class 4A Division II win over perennial postseason opponent Mercedes on Friday night at Tiger Stadium. The final score makes it sound like an easy walk for the Wildcats. It wasn't. The Tigers, who were making their sixth consecutive playoff appearance, dished out as much as it took before 10-1 Calallen pulled away in the final two quarters.

"I think on our bus ride here we thought we had it made and we realized that we didn't," said Calallen defensive end Tate Bammert, who had three sacks and broke up a pass. "We played like we should have. Give them credit. They had a helluva team, good linemen, good receivers and a good quarterback. We weren't ready for them."

It showed. Mercedes recovered an onside kick that led to it taking a 10-7 lead before Calallen's big-play capabilities and grinding ball-possessive nature took hold and paved the way to an area-round meeting with Beeville.

The 6-5 Trojans, 43-7 winners over San Antonio Southside, and Wildcats will play at 7:30 p.m. next Friday in Sinton.

"It was good, good for us, kind of woke us up," a less-than-thrilled Calallen coach Phil Danaher said afterward. "Maybe we'll play ball now."

No team has scored a second-half touchdown against the Wildcats since their 27-7 loss to fifth-ranked Port Lavaca Calhoun in the season opener. That trend didn't change Friday, although it must be placed in relative terms, according to Danaher.

"I tell you what it wasn't so much the second half as we didn't come out and play very well in the first half," said Danaher, whose Wildcats are 8-0 against the Tigers in the playoffs. "We didn't play a very good game, especially in the first half. We didn't field punts. On the kickoff we turned our back to a kick. . . . We gave them an extra possession there, and offensively, we just kind of sputtered at times. We didn't play a complete ballgame like we should've."

That changed in the second half. Calallen controlled the ball for 10 minutes, 9 seconds of the third quarter.

The Wildcats were only able to muster Jake Brearton's 34-yard field goal. But in the fourth quarter, they had the ball for just 4:03.

That was plenty of time for Robert Maldonado to cap a four-play drive with a 2-yard TD run, Logan Harper to catch a 15-yard TD pass from Preston Dorsey — that was set up by Ryan Garcia's interception — and Marcus Price's 41-yard TD reception, another score set up by Nick Espinoza's interception. It was Price's second TD of the night

The Tigers threw a scare into the Wildcats after Price's 49-yard TD run and Brearton's PAT kick gave Calallen a 7-0 lead with 4:26 to play in the first quarter. On a third-and-1 play, Isaiah Garza and Brandon Wooten teamed on a 73-yard screen pass to the Calallen 12. Garza hit Carlos Quintanilla for the game-tying TD on the next play.

Mercedes then proceeded to recover the onside kick at Calallen's 47. The Tigers made it to the Calallen 5 but had to settle for Danny Bustamante's 22-yard field goal for a 10-7 lead 45 seconds into the second quarter.

After that, Calallen limited the Tigers to minus-6 yards in the half.

Price returned the kickoff after the field goal 70 yards, slipping four tackles and juking two more Mercedes defenders.

Starting at Mercedes' 15, Cooper Storm carried twice, the final 10 resulting in a touchdown. Brearton missed the PAT kick, leaving Calallen with a 13-10 lead 10:22 before halftime.

Calallen didn't stop there. After a three-and-out, the Wildcats drove 70 yards out of the Wing-T, scoring on Dorsey's 2-yard run with 5:11 to play in the half.

Brearton's kick gave the Wildcats a 20-10 lead.

The Wildcats got the ball back on their 4 with 2:04 to play.

Price rushed twice for 31 yards and Dorsey completed three passes for 48 yards, the final 12 to Price to the 20.

The clock originally expired but officials put one second back.

Brearton's 37-yard field goal was good as time expired and Calallen had a 23-10 lead at the break.